


Disengage

by MayLovelies



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Denial, Fives and Re have a heart to heart, Friendship, Other, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Tumblr Prompt, about Umbara about everything tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-01
Updated: 2017-09-01
Packaged: 2018-12-22 14:00:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11968881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayLovelies/pseuds/MayLovelies
Summary: Rex and Fives discuss the events of Umbara, which lead to the revelation of harsh truths.





	Disengage

“The others are doing…as well as the can, Kix…” Rex took a deep breath, closing his eyes before he continued. “He hasn’t gotten over it. I don’t think he ever will.”

On the other side of the table, Fives wore a look of concern which eventually twisted into something else. Anger, it looked like. “How could he? He had to watch so many of his brothers die.” He responded. “It was his duty to save them and he couldn’t.” He paused for a moment before locking eyes with Rex. “How are you holding up, Rex? For the most part, you’ve been silent about it.”

Rex sighed, tearing his gaze away from Fives. “I’ve been trying to put it behind me. I’ve been trying to stay strong for my men.”  After that things fell silent between the two.

Rex found himself looking down at his full plate of food, losing his appetite almost instantly. He could feel the ever-looming tension between he and Fives growing stronger; it made the air thick and uncomfortable. Since the events of Umbara, things had been extremely difficult between the two and their relationship had taken somewhat of a negative turn. Fives in general had been slightly more detached toward everything after Umbara but when it came to Rex, there was obvious disdain. Fives was not outwardly rude to his Captain and still remained polite, but there was animosity toward Rex. That is why, in an attempt to mend and save what little friendship they had, Rex had invited Fives to lunch. At that time, the cafeteria was empty only inhabited by the two of them. Every so often a visitor entered the premise but they wouldn’t stay long.

As the quietness only continued, Rex forced himself to eat, trying not to regret inviting Fives to lunch with him. It was just that he’d never been made to feel so uncomfortable around a friend, least of all around Fives. He so desperately wished for things to go back to how they were; he loathed this tension and heavy air. 

“Has the General said anything about it, Rex?” 

Rex looked up from his plate, grateful that Fives had decided to break the crippling silence. “What do you mean?” He asked, slightly caught off guard by the question.

“General Skywalker? Has he comforted you or any of the men? I haven’t heard anything.”

“Ah,” Rex responded. “General Skywalker has been busy Fives. He hasn’t had time to talk to me or the men about it.” He shrugged, not thinking much of it. “He has a lot on his shoulders.”

There was a snarky chuckle that came from the other side of the table, causing Rex to raise a concerned eyebrow.

“Too busy to be concerned about his men.” Fives spoke. “It doesn’t surprise me, I’m starting to understand how Jedi really think.”

“Now hold on Fives,” Rex interjected, as he tried his best not to sound defensive, but he didn’t take well to Fives speaking so poorly of Anakin or the other Jedi. “what happened on Umbara with Krell isn’t General Skywalker’s fault. He didn’t want to leave us.”

“You don’t get it, do you?” Fives spat, pointing an accusing finger toward his friend. “You think Krell is the only Jedi like that?”

“If there were other Jedi like Krell, we would have known about it.” He crossed his arms, locking his gaze with Fives.

“It doesn’t matter if they’re ‘like Krell’ or not, Rex. Jedi are still Jedi, we are still their tools of war. We’re programmed to think otherwise, to be happy about this but,  you can’t stay ignorant forever Rex. General Skywalker doesn’t even care enough to ask your, or any one else in the 501st how we’ve been since Umbara! If it were Commander Tano or General Kenobi who had gone through such a horrific experience, maybe he would have cared.”

Rex opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. He could not muster the right words to say, he could not even begin to debate Fives’ point. Deep down inside, Rex knew there was some truth in his friend’s words, some truth that he was not yet ready to accept.

“What happened on Umbara was a tragedy Fives,” He finally started, resting his arms.  “but you cannot put blame and anger on people who had nothing to do with it. General Skywalker cares about us—that is why he didn’t want to leave us. You saw how conflicted he was.”

“If he cared about us Rex, he’d think twice before his reckless strategies. When was the last time you’d ever seen him mourn one of us? Or when was the last time he ever jeopardized a mission or strategy because he thought it would be too dangerous for us?” Fives leaned forward, he too locked his gaze with Rex.

“General Skywalker is young…he’s inexperienced…he just needs time…”

“Time!?” Fives had exclaimed louder than he wanted to, nearly making Rex jump. His eyes were wide with anger and then confusion.  “Time? Whose time does he need, whose time will he use? Yours….mine…? Come on Rex, we might be dead before then.” His voice grew softer as he looked sympathetically across the table toward his friend.

There was a slight pause, yet Fives continued before Rex had a chance to speak. “This isn’t just about Umbara, it’s about the whole system. Everything Rex, and you’re either blind to it or choosing to ignore it.”

“What are you trying to say, Fives?” Rex knew the answer but at the same time he knew he couldn’t stay silent any longer.

“You know what I’m trying to say Rex…” Fives sighed. “Umbara opened my eyes, but things were corrupted before then. I was just to blind to realize it.”

When Rex said nothing, Fives sighed and stood in defeat. There was obvious distress on his face, as if he’d given up on Rex ever seeing his perspective.

Rex felt extremely guilty, feeling not only that this lunch date was pointless, but that he’d disappointed a friend. “Fives, I’m sorry I do…I do understand. It’s just…it’s just what can we do about it?”  He had half hoped his question would prompt Fives to sit down, but his friend continued on his stride.

“What can we do about it Rex, other than be slaves for the Jedi?” There was a hopelessness in Fives’ voice that struck Rex harder than any blaster bolt did.

The word slaves hit Rex hard, but he did not protest. “I’m sorry Fives, for everything.” Is all he could manage as his friend passed by him.

“You aren’t the one who should be apologizing.” Fives called as he neared the exit. Within a few seconds he was gone, leaving Rex alone.

He took a deep breath, and stared ahead at the plates. Fives had barely eaten, Rex felt sick from forcing himself to eat.

Other than contemplating on how much of a fail this was, there were a lot of things on his mind. He thought of Umbara, he thought of Slick and how the word “slaves” made him uneasy. But maybe it should have…Slick was right, Fives was right. However, these were things he didn’t wish to think about at the moment.

He felt that there was some change in his relationship with Fives and maybe as the months went on, they’d grow from this moment.

Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

**Author's Note:**

> One of the most interesting things to me about the Umbara Arc was the dynamic between Fives and Rex. It wasn’t really something I’d seen between Clones before—okay with the Domino squad, but it was different between Rex and Fives. I always appreciated Fives and his willingness to speak his mind and call out injustice. Even if in the end it cost him his life. He is certainly a woke clone. But anyway, I always believe there is a shift in their relationship after Umbara mainly because Fives did call Rex out on a lot of things that weren’t really resolved. So yeah, here’s my take. 
> 
> If you like it , please comment and tell me! This was written for finish-the-clone-wars writing Wednesday!


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